Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five reasons why I enjoy weird stints when they’re represented in basketball video games.

Although my favourite memories of players are from when they were on the teams they spent most of their careers with – or in some cases, where they were when I first got into basketball – I do oddly enjoy their weird stints as well. Granted, while I’ll never enjoy watching Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards jersey quite as much as seeing him doing what he did best for the Chicago Bulls, I can appreciate those years in hindsight. As much as I wish he and other long-tenured Hall of Famers never suited up for other teams, it’s undeniably interesting to see them in different jerseys.

Naturally, that interest carries over to the virtual hardwood, where video games have preserved the weird stints of so many big names over the years. Much as I ultimately prefer to watch games and highlights where those players are in familiar uniforms, my first choice is to revisit video games – or play with classic teams – that represent those famous stints. However, just as I find it oddly fascinating to watch Wizards MJ or Patrick Ewing playing for the Seattle Supersonics alongside Gary Payton, it’s also fun to be reminded of those bizarre tenures whenever I encounter them in an old release. To that end, here are five reasons why I enjoy all of those weird stints in video games.

1. Novelty & Challenge

Simply put, weird stints are novel and interesting! Once again, if I’m being completely honest, I still wish that players like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, and other greats, never suited up for teams other than the ones we all associate them with. There’s something special about stars that spent their entire career with one team, and those weird stints tend to represent players sticking around beyond their time. The fact of the matter is that those weird stints did happen though, and for better or worse, it was an interesting sight to see all-time greats donning new uniforms. As interactive almanacs, basketball games are reminders of that novelty.

And of course, as interactive almanacs, basketball games allow us to take control of those players in their weird stints! On top of the novelty, this can also provide us with some worthy challenges. It’s one thing to replace Roster Player with Michael Jordan and play with the champion Chicago Bulls at the height of their powers, but another altogether to try to win with his weak Wizards squad. Pippen’s Blazers are stronger – at least on paper and the virtual hardwood – but legends like Ewing and Hakeem, not to mention Shaquille O’Neal and Dominique Wilkins, had weird stints as members of underdog squads. It’s fun to play with those teams and try to overachieve with them.

2. Historical Significance & Trivia

I promise I’m trying not to overuse the phrase “interactive almanacs”! That’s what video games end up being though, and as someone who enjoys NBA history and trivia, that only adds to their appeal. We remember the weird and not-so-successful stints of the greatest players in history – as much as we may try to forget or pretend they didn’t happen – but there are some that we don’t recall as often. It’s certainly more common with players who were significant during their era, but don’t end up going down as all-time NBA Legends. It’s fun to fire up an old game to browse the rosters, and be reminded of an example of a familiar face ending up in a rather strange place!

Not only do I enjoy how it jogs my memory of seeing those weird stints in real life and video games alike, but it’ll often send me down a rabbit hole investigating the history behind how they got there. In doing so, I’m not only reminded of details I’d forgotten, but also frequently learn something new! This includes unusual situations, from brief and often overlooked stops in a prominent player’s career, to the phantom stints and other weird circumstances that were captured when a video game’s roster was finalised. I love exploring NBA history, especially when I can do so through the lens of video games, and then share those interesting discoveries through my articles.

3. Quintessential Video Game Lineups

While many weird stints don’t represent the strongest squad that a famous player was a part of, that isn’t always the case. The 2004 Los Angeles Lakers that featured Karl Malone and Gary Payton is a perfect example of a strong team featuring weird stints. Moreover, irrespective of the team’s strength and real life success, weird stints often go hand-in-hand with fun lineups for video games. Admittedly the aforementioned novelty is frequently a major factor here, but a strange sight alone doesn’t make a squad a Video Game Team. It comes down to a pairing or lineup that’s better on paper and in games than in real life, since chemistry, health, and age needn’t be a problem.

Again, while the 2004 Lakers with their individual stars ultimately fell in the Finals to a tough, team-first Detroit Pistons team, they’re a great squad to play with. Hakeem Olajuwon and Vince Carter would’ve been an incredible duo in their prime, and in the 2002 season games, The Dream is still good enough for you to act as if that were the case. Chris Webber’s brief stint with the Philadelphia 76ers is somewhat of an unusual footnote to his career, but teaming him up with Allen Iverson and Andre Iguodala is a blast on the virtual hardwood! It isn’t necessarily as fun as playing with stars in their famous jerseys, but it’s a different kind of enjoyment because it’s so out of the norm.

4. Influencing Choices in Retro Mods & Gaming

When you’re a retro gamer with a large collection of basketball video games including a variety of all-time classics, it can be tough to choose what to play. Obviously, the gameplay experience that you’re craving is a key factor, but if you’re feeling nostalgic for a specific era, that’s something to keep in mind as you make your choice. Because weird stints are oddly nostalgic and certainly interesting, if no other option is quite as appealing to you in the moment, why not revisit a game where you can play with a familiar face in a strange place? As previously mentioned, it’s a great way to find a more challenging matchup, or use a team that’s better in video games than in real life.

That principle applies to modding, as well. Whether you’re trying to decide on a retro season to re-create in a modern game, or perhaps assembling a roster of underrated and fun classic teams, it’s worth considering options that include weird stints. After all, it’s easy to gravitate towards the most iconic campaigns in NBA history where the big names of the era are all where they’re “supposed” to be, as well as champions and other all-time great squads. However, re-creating weird scenarios through modding is another way of exploring fascinating moments in NBA history that are overshadowed or glossed over, but are nevertheless worth talking about, not to mention re-playing.

5. The “What If” Factor

Because so many weird stints involve familiar faces in strange places towards the end of their career, on a team that wasn’t necessarily built for success as far as talent and chemistry, it’s easy to wonder what might’ve been if things were a little different. If Michael Jordan hadn’t suffered a knee injury in 2002, could the Wizards have made the Playoffs? Could he have ended up with another scoring title? They were rising up the standings and he was averaging around 30 ppg during a successful stretch right before he went down. Likewise, if Hakeem had been healthier and Vince Carter not been injured, could the Toronto Raptors have made a decent run in the East that year?

What if the Philadelphia 76ers featuring C-Webb and The Answer been able to gel under a better coach? For that matter, what if Jamal Mashburn had been able to return from injury and provide them with solid minutes? What if Karl Malone hadn’t hurt his knee during his Lakers stint? We’ll never know and there’s no way to prove a What If one way or another, but it’s sure fun to “decide” the matter on the virtual hardwood! In preserving the rosters from a specific season, weird stints and all, games also capture a snapshot of unfilled potential and interesting scenarios that, for want of a nail, may have turned out quite differently. Retro gaming is another way to wonder “What If?”

Do you enjoy revisiting the weird stints of famous players in video games, either via retro gaming or retro mods? What are some of the weird stints that always stick in your mind? Have your say in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Reasons I Enjoy Weird Stints in Games appeared first on NLSC.